Cassandra: a True Champion
by Karynakk
Summary: The Cullens and Denalis have decided to team up with Kianna in order to defeat the Volturi. Will they be able to defeat their vampire leaders? Or will they die trying? Book 4 of my series.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Okay, here's what we need to do," I said, brushing my hand over the drawing of Volterra in front of me. "Somebody will need to go down into their lair and gain their trust. This may take a few days, but if it's someone Aro really wants on his side, he'd be too happy getting his way to be suspicious. To help that along, that person's going to give him some 'information' leading his best guards down to the Bermuda triangle. We'll need to try to get at least Jane and Alec down there, and Demetri as well, no doubt. Hopefully even Felix if we're lucky. Anyway, they go down to the islands to find an ambush waiting for them…"

"Their talents will be useless," Kianna chimed in. "I have seen it before. The one called Demetri has tracked me to the triangle in the past, but never to the correct island. This interference will no doubt affect the twins as well, so it should be easy to take them down." Jack nodded.

"Meanwhile, in Italy," he continued, "the pack, the herd, and everyone else who isn't on the islands will be hiding in the background, waiting for the perfect time to strike. We'll all need to sneak in little bits at a time. We can't have the whole group going at once; it'd be too conspicuous. Cassy will probably have to use her talent to help us travel around. It works out well that she was part of the Volturi for a week, so she knows everything about the palace." Kianna looked at me in alarm, not knowing this particular piece of information about me.

"It was really more against my will than anything," I told her, shaking my head irritatedly. "They took me away from Jack. I would never want that to happen. Back to the topic at hand, I DO know of a good room for everyone to hide out in while we wait. Before that pretty little feeding room that everyone's grown used to, they had a different one, dank, slimy, and in a very desolate place on the bottom floor. They had problems getting humans down there, so they built a different room with more ambiance. Nobody ever goes to that other place anymore; in fact, they hardly even go on that floor anymore, so it should be easy to sneak in. After we get everybody inside, we'll need to wait for a signal from whoever swears their loyalty to Aro. Then, we attack."

I looked around at the crowd in front of me. It had only been a day since we got back from our honeymoon, and already everyone we needed was right here in front of us. The wolves, the unicorns, the Cullens, the Denalis, everyone. Naturally, the group was too large to fit into our humble little house, so we were having our meeting in the clearing where my wedding had taken place less than a week before. This place was going to have a lot of memories by the time our lives settled down.

"We figured the wolves would roam all around the building sniffing out loners while the rest of us went to face Aro," Jack said. "The, uh, unicorns will be just outside the room getting rid of anyone who tries to stop us. We may want one or two of them inside with us, of course, in case we need some extra help, but if all goes well, they won't have to do much." Everyone looked around at each other, grinning and whispering excitedly. We might actually pull this off.

"But who will be the one to interact with Aro?" Carlisle asked. "They're the one who sets everything in motion." At this I glanced at Edward before looking back down at the picture in front of me.

"Well, at first I had suggested that I be the one to do it," I said cautiously, "but I wouldn't be able to lie to Aro; he would know everything that's going on with one touch of his hand. There's really only one person who would be able to pull off such a lie…" I looked slowly up at Edward to see his reaction. He had stiffened as soon as he read my thoughts, and I could tell that he wanted to say no with every cell in his body, but he knew just as well as I that Bella was the only one who could pull this off.

"She won't actually be in any danger at first, Edward," I said quietly, turning my gaze to her. She had caught on to what I was hinting immediately.

"I can do it," she said. "he won't have any idea what's really going on."

"I have no doubt in my mind that you can do this, love," Edward murmured, looking into her eyes. "I simply don't want you to cross paths with someone as dangerous as Aro. You know what he's capable of."

"I'll be fine," she assured, touching his cheek. "He can't get into my mind. As long as I know what to say to him, he'll be forced to believe me. And then we can deal with him together when the fight begins." I shifted my weight awkwardly.

"Yeah, about that…" I said, glancing at Jack and Kianna. "We kinda planned that out too. The only way we could think of that would convince Aro to send his best fighters anywhere was if-"

"I were the reason they needed to leave," Edward finished for me, reading my thoughts again. His gaze seemed tortured. "He knows Bella and I are inseparable. If she tells him she'll only stay if I join as well, he would immediately send somebody out to get me. And if she makes it perfectly clear that I would never give in without a fight, he would be forced to send some of his better minions, including Jane."

"But how would we get Alec there?" Bella asked. "This plan won't work unless he's gone."

"We've thought of that too," I replied, looking at Jack.

"Naturally, Alice would have seen Bella's betrayal," he said, "so she went to the islands as well to warn Edward, with a few extra allies to fight off the hunting party. Alec would be forced to help get rid of them. As much as Aro wants Edward, he wants Alice probably twice as much, and he would never skip an opportunity as rich as this one."

"He also believes that I am still on the islands," Kianna added. "Trust me, he will not be able to resist such a tempting crowd, despite the magic of the area."

"Who will be part of the ambush party, other than Alice and Edward?" asked Esme. I watched the crowd as they discussed amongst themselves.

"Rose and I'll go," Emmett practically yelled, grinning broadly. "I've gotta give Demetri a piece of my mind."

"I've always been dying to give Jane a taste of her own medicine," Kate said thoughtfully. "I may not actually be able to do that, but I'm certainly not giving anyone else the privilege of ripping her to shreds." I tried to hide my disgusted expression; even though the Volturi were dirty rotten parasites, I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy the thought of killing them off, one by one. From what I understood, Carlisle felt the same way, but at least he had more experience with this kind of thing. There was no way I would actually be able to rip somebody apart, no matter how much pain they caused me.

"Well then of course I'm going too," Garrett said, wrapping his arms around her waist. She smiled up at him slyly.

"I'll go with my dad," Renesmee piped up, looking at Edward. "I won't be much help with Momma." He nodded slightly.

"Marcello and I could go," Tanya offered, glancing at her new mate shyly. He smiled.

"Sorry Tanya," I said. "Marcello's talent would be quite useful up in Italy. We could use another translator like Kianna, or another one of me, dare I say it. You can still go to the islands with Kate if you want, or you can go to Italy with us. It's your choice." She frowned and nodded.

"They'll need me more on the islands," she sighed. "I'll go with Kate."

"Esme and I can go," Carlisle said, "for safety purposes. It's unlikely that they'll send any more than eight people, but it would be good for us to have a majority advantage." I turned to watch Jasper, who was sitting quietly next to Alice. He was really the only person who hadn't offered to be part of the ambush, which surprised me.

"Aren't you going to want to go with Alice?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Of course I want to go with Alice," he said, "but you'll need me more up in Italy. Caius could use an attitude adjustment." He chuckled humorlessly. I just shrugged.

"Okay, so all of those going to the islands will leave at dawn tomorrow," Jack announced. "The rest of us will leave at noon. Good luck, and down with the Volturi!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I watched everyone chattering excitedly and sighed. They were all so happy to finally be going up against the Volturi. Why couldn't I be one of them? After everything that had happened because of Aro, why couldn't I be glad to get rid of him?

Jack was talking with Kianna about battle strategies, about what he would do if he got his hands on the Volturi's leader. He was certainly in the spirit of things. I almost decided to join them- after all, I had a few ideas of my own on how we could win- but I just couldn't bring myself to become part of such a violent conversation. It wasn't in my nature to talk about killing a living, breathing creature (well, I guess technically we weren't _living,_ but I still didn't like the idea). So I silently faded into the background and stepped into the woods, unnoticed.

I was wandering aimlessly through the trees at an unusually slow speed when I heard the sound of leaves crunching behind me.

"Cassandra?" my follower asked, "are you there?" It was Carlisle.

"Yeah, I'm here," I sighed, allowing my form to reappear so he could see me. I sounded depressed, even to my ears.

"Edward heard your thoughts as you left the clearing," he explained. "Perhaps I can help?" I smiled slightly and shook my head. I knew Carlisle was compassionate, and hated hurting people about as much as I did, but I couldn't see how he could help.

"Have you heard about our encounter with the newborn army four years ago?" he asked, inviting me to come closer so we could talk.

"Yes," I said, stepping towards him tentatively. I knew he hated the idea of killing the vampires who were created to kill his family, but he did it anyway, which was more than I could say for myself. If I were somehow trapped in a room with Aro, I knew I would be far too chicken to kill him.

"So you understand my point of view?" I nodded. "They didn't deserve to die; they didn't know any better. That's why it was so hard for me to hurt them. I even tried to spare one of them, if you recall that particular section of the story." I grimaced; I knew all about Bree and how Jane had brutally murdered her. "As much as I hate to admit it, Cassandra, the Volturi isn't the fair ruling class that it used to be. Even if they may not deserve to die, they don't deserve to rule any longer either. You don't have to kill anyone if you don't want to; simply help us overthrow them." I looked up at him with a weak smile. I knew how hard it would be for him to go up against his former friends. If he could do it, then certainly I could help. Like he said, I didn't have to actually kill anyone.

"Okay," I said softly. "Thanks Carlisle."

"You're welcome," he replied, returning the grin sorrowfully. "We should get back to the clearing. The others may wonder where we've gone." I nodded and turned back the way we had come, keeping in step with the doctor all the way back to the crowd.

"Hey Cass," Jack said cheerfully, "where'd you go? One second you were standing right behind me, edging everyone on, the next you're nowhere to be found." He paused a moment to look at my face more closely. "Cassy, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," I mumbled. "I guess I'm just not as excited about the fight as everyone else." His smile faded as he thought about this.

"I'm sorry Cass," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "I forgot you were kind of a pacifist. It'll be over in a few days, a week at most. But we have to do this; Aro has threatened every one of us for far too long." I sighed again and looked down at the grass.

"It's not just because of the fight," I admitted, refusing to meet his gaze. I felt terribly embarrassed to point this out, but I wanted him to know exactly what I was feeling.

He waited for me to continue, but I just kept looking down at the grass. How could I explain my emotions? It was so petty to be thinking about something so insignificant when there was a war about to take place.

"Cass." His hand ran up my arm and moved my chin until he could see my eyes. I trembled at the motion.

"You said our honeymoon would last two weeks," I muttered, "maybe more. It only lasted three days, Jack, all because of this stupid fight. And what's worse…" I stopped, biting my lip; I was being absurd. How could I even think something so silly? But the doubt still clouded my mind.

"Yes?" His tone was gentle, his eyes probing and completely hypnotizing. I could tell he wished he had Edward's talent right now.

"You seemed perfectly fine with leaving early," I whispered. "You preferred the fight over me. Ever since Kianna mentioned the Volturi, all you've been able to talk about is how to destroy them. At the islands, on the plane, even here…" He cut me off with a single kiss, making my mind go blank. I looked up into his eyes longingly.

"Never say that Cass," he said softly. "Of course I didn't want to leave early. Why on Earth would I choose Aro over you?" Well, putting it like that made my theory sound even more stupid. "The only reason I agreed to leave is because I know he has to be stopped. He's after the Cullens, the wolves, Kianna, YOU. Probably even the unicorns, if he knows they exist. I can't just sit back and relax when I know you could be in danger, even if it's our honeymoon." I continued to look up into his eyes, a small smile forming on my lips. "When this is all over, we can go on a different honeymoon, in a completely different place if you want. We can go to the Bahamas, or Jamaica, or Los Angeles. Or if you really liked the triangle, we could go there again and not have to worry about our skin showing. We can go wherever you want, just as soon as the Volturi is put in its place." I nodded and stood up on my toes to kiss him again, wrapping my arms around his neck. He was very persuasive.

"I don't think anyone wants to see this," I murmured into his ear, sneaking a glance at the crowd from the corner of my eye. Many of our guests were either turning away from us awkwardly, or giving us funny looks occasionally while they talked. "Maybe we should go back to the house?" Jack gave me a mischievous grin.

"Of course," he said, sweeping me off my feet. "Anything for you." I giggled as he carried me away from our friends, from the clearing, from my sorrows, and into the world where nothing mattered except the two of us. I knew this was a glimpse of the world we would create in the fall of the Volturi.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

We came back to the clearing a few hours later, just as the sun was setting. Everyone had cleared the chairs and the tables out of the way and were now preparing to learn more fighting techniques from Jasper, who was currently talking with Bella. A few of the wolves had transformed to make fighting easier, while a few of the others lounged around lazily on the grass. It was, ironically, a pretty peaceful scene at the moment.

"Okay, we only have about 14 hours before we leave," Jasper spoke up, "so let's get started. I trust most of you remember the tips I gave you about fighting the newborns?" Quite a few nods from the group. "Well they aren't going to work here." It didn't look like anyone had been prepared for that. "The Volturi are an ancient coven of vampires that have seen every form of attack I know from the wars in the South. We're fighting on their land, so they have the home-town advantage, and they know all about the shapeshifters. We're going to need to be even more unpredictable, even more united, and have every element of surprise we can get. Thankfully, it seems that we have that last part covered." He looked at the unicorns appreciatively. "The other two… We might need to work on." He stepped out into the middle of the field and motioned for Emmett to join him. His brother gave him a big, devilish grin.

"It's your funeral, little brother," he snarled eagerly, crouching down. Jasper's lips curved up at the edges ever so slightly as he watched his sibling get ready. Once Emmett was settled into a good position, he lunged for his brother with every ounce of strength that he had. But before he could reach him, he slowed down, his eyes drooping the tiniest bit. His target moved out of the way and smiled as he slammed into a tree, then slumped to the ground. We all watched in amazement.

"Use your talents to your advantage," Jasper said, his eyes still on Emmett as he lifted out of the haze. "Aro does that often, but without Jane or Alec there, he won't have the privilege. He has a lot of bodyguards though; don't underestimate them. They know how to fight, they know what they're doing, and they will kill you in less than a second if you give them the chance. Use your talents, overuse them if possible. Don't let them get near you if you can help it, and if you can't help it, be as unpredictable as possible. Don't let them get the better position." At this he motioned for Jack to come over, ignoring Emmett as he grumbled under his breath and walked away.

"I'm not a very experienced fighter," Jack warned, stepping up to our friend.

"I know," he replied. "This is a good time for you to learn. Don't worry, I'll use normal battle tactics on you." Yeah, that was comforting.

Jack crouched down uncertainly and eyed Jasper for a moment before attacking. He lunged for his neck, but Jasper moved before he could reach him. He tried again, and again he missed. After a few more tries of this, Jack realized this wasn't going to work, so he tried something else. Stalking up to him slowly, Jack watched for any sign of movement; Jasper was utterly still. He lunged for his neck again, but then jolted to a stop and pinned him to the ground instead. Jasper grinned and nodded. Jack stood up victoriously and walked back over to me.

"See what you have to do?" Jasper asked, getting back on his feet. "But you'll have to be better than that, unfortunately. I didn't even attempt to fight him; Aro and his guards will be much different. You need to be on your toes and make those decisions quickly, before they have time to react to them. Otherwise, you'll be dead pretty quickly." A glance at everyone in the clearing. "We don't want to lose anyone in this battle. Take precautions, keep yourself safe. Don't let Aro get the upper hand." This time he motioned for one of the wolves to come forward. I watched as Jacob stepped to the clearing, a big wolfy grin on his face. Though he couldn't actually speak English in his animal form, I could tell he was pretty confident without his sarcastic comments.

Jake didn't waste any time. As soon as he had stepped away from the crowd, he lunged for Jasper, aiming for his throat as Jack had. This time my distant brother stood to fight, though, instead of using his talent to his advantage. He just wanted to give us a taste of what Aro's guards might do without Jane and Alec there.

They actually fought pretty well, neither one holding back, neither one making a fatal mistake. Just when I thought one was down, he sprung back up again and pinned the other. Or just as one got his arms around the other's neck, he was shaken off and thrown to the ground. I knew that if Jacob and the other wolves could just catch the vampires by surprise, it would be easy to kill them off. If we were truly this evenly matched, I could see where the element of surprise would come in handy.

"Good," Jasper said, almost sounding tired. "You might just be able to survive this." Jacob grinned and loped back to where Renesmee and Her parents were standing. Then Jasper turned his eyes on me.

"You could be a very good weapon against the Volturi Cassandra," he pointed out. "They can't fight what they can't see. Even if you don't kill them, we could use your help fighting them off. Maybe you could even catch anyone who tries to get away." I shuddered involuntarily, but nodded. He could sense my emotions on the subject no doubt, so he knew just how hard it would be for me to fight, but he did have a point; anything I did would be immensely helpful, even simply keeping everyone in the room until we were done with them.

Instead of asking me to come forward, however, my friend turned to Jack and beckoned to him again. I felt my eyebrows furrow, trying to figure out what he was up to.

"I think we should try this with a team scenario this time," Jasper announced, glancing at me slyly before looking around at the group again. "Emmett, Jacob, Rosalie, you'll fight with me. Bella, Renesmee, Cassandra, you'll stand with Jack." These teams seemed pretty unfair to me; he picked all the new, inexperienced vampires to stand by Jack. I stepped towards them carefully. It almost seemed like a game of dodgeball, only much more deadly. The other girls walked over as well, looking just as confused as I was.

I noticed Edward had stepped closer as well, but not in a protective way; more like, an observative way. He was looking at me.

"Get ready," Jasper growled. Emmett and Jacob smiled and leaned into a hunting crouch. And then they were off, lunging at us from every direction. Jack was actually pretty good at first, fighting with Jasper and keeping him away from us. But then he looked like he was starting to get tired, and I noticed Jasper smile.

"Bella, use your shield!" I said quickly, turning to my friend. She looked at me and nodded before going back to Emmett. I glanced at Jack just long enough to make sure had been restored, then searched out Rosalie. Renesmee was distracting Jacob, Bella was entertaining Emmett, and Jack was wrestling Jasper, so I knew Rosalie and I were the only ones left without someone to fight. I saw her flash by and run up a tree, teaming up with Emmett against Bella. Well, I wasn't having that.

I lunged for the spot just above Bella's head, the place where I knew Rosalie would be in just a few seconds, and blended into the background simultaneously. I hit my target full force and pinned my distant sister to the ground.

"What the-" she spluttered, looking up at my face, though obviously seeing nothing. "That's not fair!" I grinned and let her see my face for just a fraction of a second, then jumped off the ground and headed for Bella. Emmett and she had somehow managed to get into an arm-wrestling fight, which I knew would never happen in Italy, but he still held a grudge for all those times she'd beaten him as a newborn.

"You're going down, little sis!" Emmett growled, smiling wickedly. Bella just rolled her eyes.

"I might not," she replied calmly. "Maybe I'll beat you again, like I did every day for an entire year." He growled again and set his elbow on a nearby rock. She took his hand and pushed with all her might. I could tell Emmett was going to win- Bella's arm was sinking backwards every few seconds- so I figured I'd have a little fun while nobody could see me.

I gently touched Bella's shoulder to let her know I was there, then put my hand on top of hers and pushed. I saw her smile as we both sent his hand crashing into the boulder. He looked appalled.

"What? How did you…?" Bella smiled and I reappeared to pat his shoulder sympathetically. He stared up at me for a moment and burst into laughter.

At this point our fight wasn't really a fight anymore. Rosalie was grumbling over by Emmett, who was making fun of Bella for cheating, and Renesmee and Jacob were pretty much in their own world lying in the grass. Only Jasper and Jack were truly fighting, and I could see it was almost over.

"Gotcha!" Jasper huffed, pinning Jack to the ground. My mate was flustered. I turned invisible one more time and ran over to the boys, shoving Jasper onto the grass and pulling Jack to his feet. Jasper smiled as he stood up himself, knowing what happened, and looked in my general direction.

"Very good," he said. "We might just be able to pull this off."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Calm down, Cassandra," Jack said, pressing his hands to my cheeks. "Everything's going to be okay. This is going to work." I nodded nervously, trying not to panic. We were already in the car on the way to the airport, and I wasn't feeling as confident as I had a few hours ago. My invisibility would definitely come in handy when we finally fought the Volturi, but was there any proof that our plan would actually work? And then there was the request Edward had made just before he left…

_"Don't let Bella get hurt," _he had said. _"Please, go with her when she meets the Volturi. I want to make sure someone can help her if… anything goes wrong."_ The way he said the last few words, the look in his eye when he thought about the danger of Bella's mission, he made it impossible to say no. It took a while to convince Jack it was a good plan though; he didn't like the idea of me being anywhere near the Volturi without him, but it would actually help if I knew what was going on.

"I hope so," I replied, tucking my head under his chin. "I just don't want anything to go wrong. Eleazer and Carmen will be waiting for us right?" He nodded.

"They got a bigger house a few miles away from Volterra," Jack said. "After Aro found out that they had been spying on him from that cottage, they couldn't go back. But they should have just enough room for all of us in their new home." He glanced out the back window at the line of cars right on our trail. The wolves took up at least four cars all on their own, and the vampires occupied at least another two. The two in the truck with us were Kianna and Marcello. The unicorns were following us in the shadows of the forest, considering they wouldn't fit in a car. It was convenient that they ran even faster than vampires.

"What will my job be when we reach my family?" Marcello asked eagerly, looking out the window like an excited little kid. I smiled despite myself.

"Well, we're going to need you to borrow Bella's power for a while," I said, looking in the rearview mirror so I could see his face better. "At least until Demetri leaves for the triangle. We don't want him sensing that we're here; he could tell Aro, and who knows what could happen then."

"How long will it be before he leaves?" Kianna asked. "We do not want to hide under the shield for too long, especially since the boy has had no practice holding it in place. It may tire him out quickly." Marcello shot a defiant glance in her direction.

"I'm a fast learner," he retorted. "How do you think I came across my talent? Eleazer said that sometimes the power shows itself in the human before it forms in the vampire." Kianna smiled slightly and raised her hands in surrender.

"Fair enough," she replied, "but you will still need to train with Isabella in the short time we have before our plan sets in motion."

"If everything goes well, the search party should leave immediately," I assured them. "Aro wouldn't waste time if three of his favorite vampires were supposedly in the same place, even if that place is the Bermuda Triangle." Jack nodded and placed his hand over mine reassuringly.

"And then we can sneak into their lair when they least expect it," he added. "Bella and Cassy will come out when they think it's safe, and then they'll escort us back into the building, group by group."

"You may need to help with that too, Marcello," I said. "After Demetri's gone, we won't really need a shield anymore; we'll need an extra hand transporting everyone." He nodded quickly, his dark brown curls bouncing wildly.

"I will be glad to help," he said. "Perhaps I could even try your diet while I'm learning your powers of invisibility? It sounds interesting." I smiled; the idea of turning another vampire into a true vegetarian, even if only temporarily, was impossible to resist.

"I'm sure Cass would be thrilled," Jack replied before I could say anything. "She was always trying to convert people into vegetarians as a human as well, if I remember correctly." I rolled my eyes. It was true, I was always trying to get people to stop eating meat. The memories were blurry, but definitely there.

"I tried that with Tanya and Kate too," I recalled, "before I knew they were vampires. They asked me why I was a vegetarian, and if it bothered me that everyone else around me ate meat. I hinted that I would rather they didn't, if possible. It's funny how little I knew back then." Jack and I looked at each other wistfully, thinking back to our freshman year in high school. So much had changed in such a little time. Just two years ago I had been human, worrying about simple things like what I would wear the next day or if my crush liked me as much as I liked him. Now I was a vampire, worrying about things like the corrupted immortal government and if I would survive the war we were plotting against them. Yes, a lot had changed.

"While we're talking about the past," Jack said, glancing at Kianna, "why is Aro out to get _you_? If it was enough to get you to hide in the Bermuda Triangle for a thousand years, it has to be something serious." She grimaced and looked out the window.

"It is… complicated," she sighed, searching for Aleka through the trees. "I do not think it would be wise to explain my past to you. I am sure you will find out soon enough. Aro and I have some unfinished business to attend to, and it will most likely not be a private conversation." The grave tone in her voice worried me, but I decided not to question her. I could see the curiosity in Jack's eyes as well, and I shook my head at him just slightly to let him know not to push his luck. He shrugged and turned his eyes back on the road.

The remainder of our trip to the airport passed in silence, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts. I was simply meditating, hoping that Bella felt more confident about her part than I did about mine. If anything happened to Jack- or to anyone for that matter- I would never be able to forgive myself.

Jack looked like he was trying to figure out what I was thinking about, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye constantly to look at my face. Every time I caught him, I gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand, then turned to look out the window again. He saw right through my attempt to look calm, I could tell, but he never said anything.

Finally, we arrived at the airport and got out of the car. Bella, Jasper, and the entire wolf pack stood waiting for us quietly.

"Come on," Bella said, smiling at me. "Before I can face Aro, I need to know what to say to him. When you worked for him last month, how did you talk to him? I want to get inside his head." I grinned back ruefully.

"Get inside a mind-reader's head," I murmured. "It's a good thing you know Edward; you'll need the experience."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"How did you answer him when he talked to you?" she asked, walking beside me as we all walked into the airport together. We probably looked like a strange group to the human eye; sixteen big, burly teenagers with only shorts and T-shirts on, and six unnaturally pale teenagers with only a few carry-on bags for luggage.

"Well, usually you need to answer him as 'master,'" I said distastefully, remembering how often I had called him that. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. "Only when you deem it necessary though; don't go overboard or he might think something's up." She nodded thoughtfully. "He also likes it when people agree with him, but of course you may not be able to do that too often. Try to lead him in the right direction without looking like you're picking the battle plan for him. Think very carefully about what you say before you say it."

"But how do I convince him I'm on his side?" I stroked my chin thoughtfully, looking back on all those times I had thought of running away, and all those times I had to schmooze my way out of it when he caught me.

"Make it perfectly clear that there are no opportunities anywhere else," I said. "The only place you can amount to anything is by Aro's side. A little town like Forks doesn't appreciate your talents the way he does, and you're tired of suppressing such power. He will think this is a completely reasonable answer, so he probably won't question you any further than that. If he asks you to do something, don't hesitate in doing it, unless it's something that you absolutely can't stand." I stopped as I thought of all those innocent humans being murdered at the hands of the Volturi, the incessant lectures I got from Aro about not participating in the mayhem. "Your diet may be something you want to think about. That's the only really touchy subject I came in contact with. Other than that, you'll have to go by instinct. I'd help you answer when he's actually with us, but I can't afford to speak. I can't touch you, I can't do anything to help you. The only thing I can do is be there to take you away if something goes wrong." She nodded grimly.

"I'll be fine," she promised. "I just hope this works. What if Aro suspects something anyway? Will we ever get the chance to sneak everyone in? And what if we get caught? If they see us unprepared, it could be a disaster!"

"We'll talk about that if we get to it," I said quickly, the negative thoughts invading my mind once more. "This is going to work. As long as we all do our part, there's no way we can lose." I hoped my voice sounded more confident than I felt.

We got on the plane about an hour later, after we had gone through all the new security contraptions they had set up and the terrified police guards waved us forward. It was funny how the humans reacted to our presence, even the big burly ones with muscles almost as big as the werewolves'. They knew somewhere in their subconscious that we could pluck them off one by one if we so wished.

"You seem restless," Jack observed as we sat in our seats. We took up the entire first-class area, the vampires in front, wolves in back. They could hardly fit in the little chairs.

"I am restless," I sighed. "I don't want to have to do this. I want to go home and pretend this never happened. I want to go on our second honeymoon and stay there for as long as we planned. I don't want to go to war with the Volturi." He wrapped his arms around me and let my head rest on his chest, stroking my hair reassuringly.

"I know," he murmured. "And I feel the same way. Do you think I liked our honeymoon being cut short? But we have to do this. You already know that. We'll be off on that second honeymoon before you know it." I smiled weakly into his shirt, then frowned again as Bella's negativities returned to my mind. What if they did catch us before we were ready? What if only half of us were in the lair before they caught on? I hated all these bad possibilities.

"You're not thinking very positively," Jack said, as if reading my mind. I looked up at him in surprise. "I can tell what you're thinking by the way you move," he explained. "Your arms just kind of sink down when you're depressed, like they're carrying some huge burden. The way you breathe changes too. You don't need to worry. How many times do I have to tell you it'll turn out fine?" I shrugged lightly.

"A lot," I admitted. "But I think it's going to take a little more than just telling me it'll be okay. You don't know for sure. You might just want to keep me from thinking about it at all; that would keep my head clear of doubts at least. I don't know how you're going to manage that though…" My voice trailed off as he brought his face closer to mine, gazing deep into my eyes.

"Are you sure about that?" he murmured, a spark igniting in his words. I felt my body go weak as I looked up into those beautiful golden irises, my forever-stilled heart feeling as if it would leap out to him with one touch. He hadn't even done anything yet and already I couldn't remember what I had been worrying about. He smiled mischievously.

"I know how you react to everything," he reminded me, his hand rolling up my spine. I trembled. "I think I can make you forget your worries, at least for a little while." Having completely lost hope of using my voice, I nodded dumbly and watched him as he very, very, unbearably slowly brought his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, as close as was possible in these odd little airline cushions, and kissed him back eagerly. Finally free of my worries, I let Jack distract me for the entire flight to Italy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The plane finally landed around dawn the next day. Most of the humans slept through the flight- including the werewolves- but of course the vampires didn't do that. Occasionally I could hear Jasper talking to Kianna or Marcello about different battle strategies they could use, and the different outcomes they might have. I never had time to think about this, of course, but I still heard the whispers.

"How long will it take to get to Eleazer's house?" I asked, looking around to anyone who might know the answer.

"They said the ride from the airport would last about ten minutes, if there are no cops around," Jasper replied, smiling wryly. "Unfortunately, if the roads are too crowded, it'll probably be more around 45 minutes." Jack stroked my hair soothingly, a reassuring smile on his lips.

"I doubt many humans will be out this early in the morning," he said. "How far is the house from Volterra?"

"Not too far," Jasper replied. "It's not as close as the cottage, I'm told, but it's only about five minutes from the outer walls by foot." I nodded approvingly; it would be a lot easier to sneak everyone in if I didn't have to run across the country to do it. I wouldn't think about the rest of our task until I absolutely had to. My only job right now was to get everyone safely inside the castle walls.

"When should I go in and talk to Aro?" Bella asked, stepping away from the werewolves to join us. She reeked of dog.

"Probably in a few hours," Jasper said, scrunching up his nose, "after you take a bath. There's no way they'll believe your story when that stink is so fresh." I stiffened by Jack's side as I realized just how suspicious a dog smell would seem. I could have slapped myself it was such an obvious detail! She was going to have to roll around in mud to get that odor off her skin at all!

"I don't think she should hang around the wolves anymore," I said quietly, looking at her meaningfully. "Not until after this whole thing is over. She shouldn't even be in the same room as them. We can't risk it." She nodded solemnly.

"Got it," she said. "I'll take a bath as soon as we get to Eleazer's." I frowned, knowing how little that would do.

"Um, I'll take her to the spa," I said, glancing over towards Jacob and his friends. "They'll be in the house too. The smell might rub off again. It's probably better to have as little smells on her as possible. I think we should just isolate from all of you now, actually, so we have time to let it wash off. That way Aro will think she actually hasn't been near any of you in days." Jack frowned and pulled me closer.

"I'm not ready to leave you yet," he murmured, his hand rolling up and down my spine. I trembled, but forced myself to concentrate.

"I don't want to leave either, but I have to. We can't risk it. We can't risk anything. I shouldn't even be with her, considering my scent is just as strong as yours, but at least I can turn invisible. My scent disappears too, so hopefully she'll be okay." He sighed and nodded, kissing me one last time before letting me go.

"Good luck," he said. "I love you." I smiled sadly.

"I love you too." Then I turned to Bella, giving her a big sarcastic grin. "Come on, let's go to the spa!" She laughed and rolled her eyes, then followed me out the door.

After looking through a map of the nearby areas, we ran to a small spa in the general direction of Volterra. I made sure I was completely unnoticeable (literally) before we entered the building, and watched from the background as Bella talked to the receptionist.

"Do you have a reservation?" the lady drawled, looking up at my friend with a bored expression. Bella shook her head.

"Sorry, no, but this is an emergency. I need a mud bath as soon as you have room."

"I'm sorry miss, but if you don't have an appointment, I can't help you." Bella frowned and very subtly pulled her wallet out of her purse.

"Are you sure there aren't any openings?" she asked, slipping $50 across the desk. The lady's eyes widened as she tried to smoothly take the paper.

"Oh, I'm sorry darling, just let me pencil you in." She looked down at the schedule in front of her and scribbled something down. "Your time starts in fifteen minutes." Bella smiled and thanked the lady quietly before sitting down next to me.

"Cassy, are you there?" she whispered, too softly for the lady to hear.

"Yeah," I whispered back.

"I guess you don't need a mud bath then?"

"If you couldn't smell that I was here, then I guess I don't." She smiled slightly, trying to pinpoint exactly where my voice was coming from. I grinned back, knowing she couldn't see it.

Bella's appointment lasted about an hour, so I was stuck sitting in that little black lobby chair with only my worries to keep me company. This had to work. But what if it didn't? Would the Volturi smell the werewolves as soon as they snuck in? Or would my talent cover them up? Would this spa thing work, or would Bella just smell like a wet dog instead of a dry one? This all seemed too difficult.

Finally I saw my friend come out from the back and thank the receptionist one last time before leaving the building. I slipped through the door's opening just before it snapped shut.

"Cassy, are you there?" Bella asked again, looking around blindly.

"Yes," I replied, right next to her. She jumped.

"Well, at least we know the Volturi won't catch you," she gasped, her eyes wide. "Jeez, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry," I said, trying not to laugh. "I can't help it."

"Can you smell the pack anymore?" I sniffed around cautiously, focusing my senses all around my friend. I could still smell them, but it wasn't nearly as strong as it had been.

"It's enough that Aro would believe you've been gone for days," I assured her. "Now come on. We should probably start heading for Volterra. It's already starting to get bright outside." With reminder of the sun, Bella cautiously pulled her sleeves farther over her arms and pulled her jacket hood over her head.

"Let's go," she agreed, trying to duck out of the sun. We ran down sidestreets, avoiding society, all the way to Volterra.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"We'd better go through the lobby," I murmured, leaning against a shadowed wall as two fidgety tourists filed past us. Since nobody could see me, I had to make absolutely certain that I didn't touch them. The last thing I wanted to do was turn some unsuspecting human invisible and go on the Volturi's death list before we even had a chance to attack them. We needed to be as inconspicuous as possible. "We want to take Aro by surprise, but sneaking into their layer would not help our case at all. If we go through the main entrance, maybe they'll take more kindly to us." She nodded as she adjusted her jacket to cover her face even more than it already was.

"I wish I'd hunted before this," she said, apropos to nothing. "How am I supposed to resist when their feeding time comes around?" I sighed.

"Close your eyes, hold your breath," I replied. "You'll be able to hear when they're done." I shuddered at the memory. All those times of having to watch those poor humans die, time and time again, Aro always trying to convince me to join them in the feast, always tempted to give in to that unbelievably tempting aroma. After all I had been through in my week with the Volturi, I was almost as controlled as Carlisle. But the experience wasn't an easy one. If I had been smart enough to take my own advice, it would have been much less difficult.

We sprinted across the bright town square- human speed, of course- and entered the main building hastily, trying to get out of the sun. We didn't want our plan to fail before it had even started, and exposing ourselves wasn't going to help at all.

The interior of the building was quite professional, the walls a buttery cream with subtle designs etched into the wood. The floor was a simple marble, and the desk right in front of the door was a dark mahogany, contrasting with the otherwise bright atmosphere.

Ironic that the dank lair of the world's largest vampire coven was just underneath this seemingly harmless first room.

"Hello," the receptionist said, a detached smile touching her lips. "Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to take a look inside the palace," Bella said politely. "I came here once before, when I was young." I noticed her slight grimace at the memory. "It was quite a… an interesting experience." The woman nodded understandingly.

"Yes, the palace is quite an interesting place to visit." Clearly she didn't notice the bad tint Bella's description had implied. "Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until one of the tour guides comes back with their group." She looked down at her computer and typed something into it quickly. "Oh, it looks like your lucky day! They're holding one of their tours today at three." I flinched back in horror, glad the human couldn't see my reaction. She was completely oblivious as to what that meant for every tourist who attended.

Bella masked her disgust much better than I would have, barely wrinkling her nose the slightest bit. The receptionist could easily pass that off as disappointment that it wasn't sooner.

"Thank you," my friend said. "I'll wait here, if you don't mind, until the party comes to start the tour." Her breathing seemed slightly ragged as she turned to the wall farthest from the door. I followed after quietly, a strange pricking feeling at my eyes.

"All those people," I whispered, just loud enough so she could hear. The human didn't have a hope of hearing me.

"I know," she said, a pained smile on her lips. "That's the exact same thing I said when I first came here. When I saw that poor group of people going into the dreadful room to-" she couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes blinked quickly, and I knew she was feeling the exact same pang of sympathy I was.

"We'll wait outside the door until they're done," I decided. "I don't want you to lose control if you stay in the same room as them… while that's going on."

"What about you?" she asked, sounding slightly irked. "Aren't YOU worried about losing control?" I smiled wryly, even though she couldn't see it.

"I had to deal with temptation my whole life as a human," I reminded her. "Vegetarian, remember? I had to deflect meat at every turn. Plus, I had to live through those… feeding sessions with Aro for a whole week. We only really had two of those, but a few 'snacks' came in that time as well." My voice was malicious as I spat out my disgust. "He was trying to cure my aversion to blood. He might as well have been trying to give me a werewolf for all the progress he made." Bella snorted, a small sound, still soft enough that no human could hear it.

"Hopefully he'll get just as far with me," she said wryly.

I glanced at my wrist to look at my half-visible watch (half-visible to me, anyway). 2:30. Only thirty minutes before the tourists swarmed the building, Heidi in the lead. She would remember Bella, undoubtedly, and me as well if I weren't invisible. Hopefully she wouldn't make us watch the massacre, or 'invite us to dinner.' I didn't know how controlled Bella was now, but I was sure that was bound to have a negative impact on her thirst.

I wanted to drum my fingers against the arm of the chair. I wanted to tap my foot impatiently as I'd done so many times before when I had to wait for something unpleasant, like a doctor's appointment or some other trite human thing. But I had to keep perfectly still; any noise on my part- even my occasional side conversations with Bella- would be a big mistake. I couldn't afford to be discovered now, when we were so close to the key point of our plan. Of _my_ plan. I couldn't believe I'd allowed myself to come here. Jack was right, it was too dangerous. But I couldn't just leave Bella! I promised Edward I would keep her safe, and I intended to keep that promise. We had to be inseparable until the first attack begun, for his sake. This wasn't just about me.

Finally, just before I thought I was going to explode with impatience, I heard voices. Some were excited, blabbering about as if they were the happiest people in the world. Others were murmuring anxiously, as if they could sense that something was wrong, like maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come on this tour…

I wished more than anything that I could help them. But I had a job to do, and I could not afford to give away my position.

"Hello Heidi," Bella said pleasantly, giving the vampire her biggest, warmest smile. Heidi did a double take, looking at us- or at Bella- as if she had three eyes and a tail. She recovered before any of the humans could notice.

"Hello Bella," she replied in her syrupy voice, looking her up and down suspiciously. "It's wonderful to see you again. Might I ask what has brought us such a delight?" She seemed to be speaking through her teeth, barely able to get the words out. Obviously she didn't like being polite to one of the coven who overpowered the Volturi half a decade ago.

"I was wondering if I might see Aro?" Bella asked just as sweetly, murmuring low enough that the tourists wouldn't have a clue what they were saying. Not that anyone was paying any attention. "I need to speak with him right away." Heidi's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit, but she nodded.

"Of course. You are more than welcome to join the tour." She smiled wickedly. "You may speak with him when we are finished." Bella grimaced and joined the crowd. I followed after her quietly, lingering in the back of the line, where I was least likely to touch anyone.

We walked into a long hallway at the end of the room and plunged into the Volturi palace.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Bella finally relaxed a little when the screaming finally subsided. Even through my own misery at such a massacre, I felt sorry for my vampire friend. She had witnessed a similar situation when she was human, from what I'd been told, and she hadn't gone through this as often as I had. It was more normal to me, though I hated to admit it, so it wasn't as hard for me to tune it out. She hadn't developed that skill.

"Master, you have a visitor waiting outside," we heard Heidi say. There was the shuffling of footsteps as two people from inside the feeding chamber came to open the door for us. We walked in very carefully, Bella doing her best to look like she wanted to be there, me trying very hard not to get in anyone's way.

"My dear Bella," Aro breathed, his whispery voice barely masking his surprise. "What a pleasure to see you again. Where are your husband and daughter? You are not alone, surely." Bella shook her head quickly, dismissing his questions for the time being.

"I've been considering your offer Aro," she said, squaring her shoulders. "And I've decided that I would be honored to join your ranks." This earned a shocked hiss from most of the crowd in the room, Jane's being more of a snarl than anything.

"Really?" Aro replied, his eyebrows raising incredulously. "That is wonderful news! I must ask, my sweet, what has caused your change of heart? Surely there is a reason." Bella nodded.

"When we met in that clearing so long ago, you were after my daughter," she said solemnly. "Naturally I was in no condition to consider your offer with her life on the line. But after the threat was over, after I knew she was safe, I began to consider it more thoroughly. You were only doing your job, after all. It didn't take me long to realize that it was a terrible mistake to deny you when I had the chance; there are no opportunities in Forks, nobody appreciates my talent the way you do." The Volturi leader smiled blissfully, but then his eyebrows furrowed with mild concern.

"Then why did you not tell me so before, child? You could just have easily explained your revelation when you came to visit your young friend Cassandra last year." She sighed pitifully.

"I couldn't tell you while Edward was around," she said ruefully. "I don't know how supportive he would be of my decision. I thought it would be best to come tell you first, and then try to convince him to join with me after it had already been done. That's why he's not here now. I left him down in the Bermuda triangle so I could come here. But I hope you know, friend, that I could never stay here if he wasn't with me. I couldn't bear it." She sniffled quite realistically, as if the strain of separation from her mate was already too much- which it probably was.

I had to admit, she had become a much better actress than what I had heard she used to be.

"Of course we will bring your husband here," Aro reassured her. "Jane and Demetri will go down to the islands and bring him here. Why, may I ask, were you in the Bermuda triangle, of all places?" His tone was casual, but I could sense a hint of regret at having to send any of his guard down into such an unpredictable place.

"We were on vacation," she replied simply. "It was the best place to sneak away without him noticing, with all the wonders there are there. But…" She trailed off, doubt filling her voice as though there were something terribly unsettling that she had to say.

"Yes?" Aro asked, edging her on.

"I think you may need to send more than just Jane and Demetri. My sister, Alice… Well, naturally she saw this coming. She's probably gone to warn Edward by now. They'll have back-up." Aro nodded as if this didn't surprise him.

"Of course, of course. Felix, you go as well, and take some of the guard with you." Felix bowed his head slightly and started to leave. Bella cleared her throat awkwardly.

"They might have the werewolves there too," she hinted. "Perhaps it would be better if you came just a little more prepared…?" She let her suggestion trail off. Aro thought about this for a moment.

"True," he finally murmured. "Alec, you should go with your sister. I want them all back here unharmed. And while you're there, perhaps you could pick something else up for me?" They shared a knowing glance, and I instinctively knew they were talking about Kianna. What else would Aro possibly want in the Bermuda triangle that he didn't already have?

I watched Aro's best guards leave the room with quiet satisfaction. Bella was doing great. Now all she had to do was be a complete suck-up for a few minutes, and then we could plan out what to do next when we were alone.

The Volturi leader turned back to my friend eagerly when his minions had gone. His eyes shown with curiosity.

"Perhaps you could show me your journey?" he asked hopefully, holding out his hand for hers. "I can't imagine how difficult it was for you." Not that he cared.

She sighed again and shook her head.

"Sorry," she murmured, placing her palm on his. "I may have learned how to extend my shield, but I still haven't found a way to make it disappear." I knew this part was a lie. I stiffened, hoping desperately that her tone of voice was convincing to him. He didn't seem surprised about this, or suspicious, much to my relief.

"What a shame," he breathed. "Not to worry, my dear, we will give you the best training there is in Volterra. You will have your talents mastered by the end of the week." Bella smiled with fake enthusiasm.

"That sounds perfect," she agreed, bowing her head slightly.

Aro nodded to the woman behind him- Chelsea- and she stepped forward to show Bella to her new room in the castle. I followed behind them quietly, smiling despite myself; the worst of the plan was over. Everything was set. Now that their tracker and witch twins were gone, I could feel more confident about how things were going to turn out.

As soon as Chelsea left for her duties, we began to scheme.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The transition was a slow process. There weren't many times when Bella was alone; some person or other was always with her, asking her questions and giving her suspicious looks. The only time she was really alone was at night, when everybody else usually kept to themselves, roaming outside in the time they had out of the sun. And even then there was at least one person who just happened to be lonely and wanted a companion with them for a few hours. We managed to sneak out about four times within the week, and two of them were excuses to hunt on Bella's part. Obviously Aro was trying to 'cure' her aversion to human blood as well, as he had done with me and Carlisle all that time ago, but once again he had no success.

We may have only had four trips in seven days, but it was enough. Everyone was here. The wolves, the unicorns, the vampires, everyone. Demetri was long gone, so Marcello had taken up my talent to help transport everyone. I had to admit I was bursting with pleasure as I watched the subtle hints of brown creeping into his eyes after every plant he drank (that must have been his natural eye color as a human), but I was too preoccupied by my next relegation to fully enjoy this accomplishment. I had to make sure everyone stayed in the abandoned feeding room, unnoticed, with enough food for the werewolves to keep their appetite at bay, all the while waiting for a signal from Bella to come out and join her for the critical moment with Aro that would start the war.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to juggle these tasks for too long. Exactly ten days after we arrived, the moment came.

I was standing in the room with everyone else, my arms linked with Jack's and Kianna's, making sure everyone was completely undetectable. Bella was in no immediate danger, so I had let her wander alone for awhile, but now I was starting to get worried. Where was she? Had somebody discovered her lie? Was she okay? When would she give us the signal? I wished I had stayed with her, when I knew what was happening. When I could better protect the ones I loved.

The footsteps were subtle at first, hardly noticeable in the midst of the beating hearts of the werewolves and the impatient of the vampires. But as they grew in volume, I realized they were coming in our direction. I froze with sudden stress; had somebody found us after all? After all that planning and preparation, would it all come to nothing? I held my breath.

Bella burst through the door.

"Everything's set!" she said to the invisible crowd. Her voice was breathless with excitement. "The moon just came up a few hours ago, and most of the guard's gone out to one of the parties in the area. The only people here are Aro, Cauis, Marcus, and their bodyguards. That's about fifteen people in the throne room. The wives are probably somewhere else in the building. The wolves will have to catch them. But we have to hurry! I don't know how long the party will occupy the stragglers, and we can't afford any more than the group we have now." There was a rustle from everyone as they murmured excitedly, but I silenced them with an abrupt, shrill whistle.

"I know everyone's eager," I murmured. "We've been waiting for over a week. But you need to be quiet just a little while longer. We cannot let anyone catch us at this most critical moment. We need to catch Aro completely by surprise. Marcello, make sure you have everyone covered. I will need to be in front with Bella, and I will break off from the group when the time comes." I saw him nod. "Okay then. Good luck everyone. Let's go."

Bella led the way, with me right behind her. I was still holding onto Jack and Kianna, but it was more to be safe than anything. I didn't know how strong Marcello's invisibility was, and though he may have been able to shield the group for days, I just didn't want to take any chances. Not now.

Finally, we reached the throne room. I took a deep, unnecessary breath, and broke off from the group to shadow Bella's footsteps. She opened the big wooden double doors and we walked inside.

"Hello Bella," Aro said, looking up from a big leather-bound book in surprise. "Is everything alright?" Bella shook her head sadly, and I could tell she was trying very hard to suppress a smile.

"I'm sorry master, but there are some visitors here that seem to have some ill will towards you." Not to mention that she was one of those visitors.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Aro replied smoothly, glancing up at a woman not far behind him meaningfully before turning his gaze back on my friend. Renata. "Tell me, who are these visitors?" This was my queue. I took another deep, unnecessary breath before answering, making sure my voice didn't waver.

"Well, they're not a very friendly bunch," I said in a clear voice that echoed off the walls. I knew how hard it was to catch a vampire by surprise, so I couldn't deny the absolute pleasure I felt when Aro nearly fell out of his chair. "And I don't think you're really going to be too happy to see them. _Master._" I spit the last word out cynically and crouched down on the floor, finally allowing my body to reappear for the first time in days. Aro just looked at me with blatant shock, unable to form a coherent reaction. I blew one sharp, blasting whistle through my teeth before he could pull himself together.

There was a blur of activity.

At the sound of my signal, the doors we had just entered burst open with a crash and the rest of my vampire family came charging through. I noticed from the corner of my eye that most of the wolves were sprinting down the hallways, looking for any lone Volturi members they could find, while a select few came running in with us. The unicorns did a very good job of staying out of sight, angled very precisely around the entrance to ward off anyone who attempted to come to the rescue. Marcello very subtley touched Kianna's hand, switching out my talent with hers to make his venom deadly. Everything was set up as I had planned.

Although Aro was still in shock at what was going on around him, his guards reacted much quicker. A big burly one- I recalled his name was Braxton- lunged toward Jasper, obviously thinking he would have the upper hand. I knew what would happen: Jasper would use his talent to make Braxton lethargic, then rip off his head. I turned away.

Another guard, a woman this time, came hurdling out from behind Marcus's throne and headed straight for Jack. I hadn't known this woman very well in my time with the Volturi, so I hadn't really expected her reaction. Her name was Lucreita, a viking-sized lady with muscles even bigger than Emmett's. She had always scared me somewhat, but I was terrified now of what she might do to my mate. Luckily he saw it coming and ducked out of the way, then pounced for her neck. I didn't have time to see who won; someone had picked me out as their next target.

Caius, to my surprise, was glaring at me with a hatred I hadn't even thought was possible. He muttered something undecipherable in the chaos and another girl came shyly out from behind his chair. She hardly looked to be any older than 12, and I was surprised he would send someone so young into the middle of a fight like this. Her hair was very long and needle-straight, swaying ever so slightly as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. She smiled at me timidly and I felt that strange prick form in my eyes again. We were going to have to destroy this girl, along with all the others. She didn't look like a threat. Maybe we could spare her…

"Cassandra!" Jasper said harshly, pulling me away from the young girl's auburn gaze- her eyes dark with thirst. I met his eyes for a short moment, seeing his warning, and nodded as he pushed away to collide with another of our enemy's allies. I couldn't afford to get distracted now, not with how much was at stake. My job was to protect my family and friends, not some stranger girl that seemingly came out of nowhere.

I risked one last look at the young vampire just in time to see Seth tackle her to the ground. Her infuriated face transformed into one I knew all too well: Genevieve, the illusionist.

I would not let myself be distracted again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I fazed in and out of reality constantly, helping out whoever needed it most, which was, unfortunately, usually Jack. He didn't have much experience with this sort of thing, and I hated to admit that without my talent, both of us would have been torn to shreds by now. I also helped Bella pretty often too, since she only had a few more years of training than we did. Kianna, on the other hand, proved to be the best fighter out of all of us, which surprised me. I hadn't thought anyone could pass Jasper when it came to tactical pursuits, but she proved me wrong. She kept making her way to Aro, attacking anyone who got in her way, but then turned around abruptly and went the other way, a dazed look on her face. Then she would get her senses back, grind her teeth, and start the whole thing over again.

I realized with a start that this was probably because of Renata. She was cowering behind her master, who was watching the whole fight with an amused look on his face, but the look in her eyes was very focused, intent on keeping her object of obsession alive.

"Bella!" I shouted, shoving four Volturi members out of my way in an attempt to be heard. She looked up from her prey for just a moment, long enough for him to get the better position. I let myself react solely by instinct, refusing to think about the decision, and bit down into his neck. He yelped in surprised anger and I thrust him off of her, right over to Jacob's eager paws. I turned visible for a split second to help my friend up.

"Thanks," she breathed.

"Get Renata," I commanded, glancing over at the shield. "Nobody else can reach her except you. I'll escort you there as far as I can, but I'm not immune to it like you." Bella nodded and I took her hand. Then we ran towards the Volturi leaders, unopposed.

It took a moment, but I could feel the shield pushing at my subconscious as we approached Aro and his brothers. My reasoning began to blur, began to fade away. Why was I going in this direction? Wouldn't I be more needed over by the door, where all the action was? I turned back towards the makeshift battlefield, my hand slipping off of Bella's almost by accident. As I walked away from wherever I was originally planning to go, I heard an echoing screech resound, like the sound of metal being crushed. The sound I had been hearing for hours now, though I was never the cause of it.

The sound of a vampire being torn apart.

I glanced back towards the thrones, suddenly remembering why I had been walking over there, and smiled grimly. Renata was nothing more than a pile of rubble, awaiting the flame that would engulf her when we were finally done with this massacre.

Aro was no longer in his seat.

I looked around wildly, disappearing once again as a precaution. Had he decided to join the fight? Would he attack me for helping Bella destroy his shield? Would he try to escape out the door? This last option didn't seem likely, considering an entire war was blocking his means of escape. But where could he have gone?

I finally caught a glimpse of him in the far corner of the throne room, behind where the thrones stood. He was bent over one of the designs intently, tracing his finger along its edges. A strange rumbling echoed off the walls as a small doorway opened just next to him. A secret passage.

"Cassandra!" I turned towards the sound of my name to see Kianna flying towards me, on the back of Aleka. Another, smaller unicorn from the herd followed after them. "Ride on Kita! We have not much time!" I glanced at the young horse wearily, then leapt onto her back, knowing we had only seconds before the three Volturi overlords disappeared into the passage, ruining all our plans.

Aleka let out a very loud, distracting whinny, making Aro pause to look up, one leg in the passage.

"Incredible," he breathed, a small smile touching his lips. Then the frown returned and he disappeared through the tunnel. The door began to close.

"_No!_" Kianna screeched, kicking her heels against her steed's sides. We both lurched forward, sailing straight over the chaos, and straight through the tiny gap between the wall and the door. The stones scraped shut behind us.

"Use your talent," Kianna hissed, her eyes glaring forward. "Kita is young, but she is still faster than them. Go straight forward until you reach the exit. Keep them trapped." I gulped and nodded. It was four against three now. Two ironically dangerous unicorns, one deadly fighter, and one completely oblivious disappearing act. My talent made up for my lack of fighting skills, but I wouldn't be able to kill anyone. Kianna knew that. So she was getting me to keep them in the room while she picked them off herself, one by one…

I kicked into Kita's sides, hoping it didn't hurt her, and we shot forward, faster than I had ever gone before on foot. I let my urge to fade into the background take over once again and watched as her neck blurred around the edges, completely unnoticeable by anyone else.

The passage led to a large, dark cavern with no noticeable light source anywhere. The walls were wet with moisture, and there was some sort of crystal embedded in the granite that gave the place an eery purple glow. It felt magical, and I would have stopped to look around more thoroughly if the situation had been less dire.

We sailed right over the three ancients, who were already running as fast as they could, and landed with a light *clap* in front of the door. They paused on hearing the noise, and I reappeared before them, my expression grim.

"Sorry about this," I said, watching them fidget nervously. "But you shouldn't have overused your power." Kianna came barreling out of the passage just then and landed agilely on her feet, sending Aleka to guard the only other way of escape before stalking towards us. Her teeth gleamed and her eyes shone with bloodlust.

"Prepare to die," she snarled.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I watched her step forward cautiously, calculating every step, every possible scenario, every reaction she might receive. Aro had already stepped back away from my friend, but the others stood frozen, watching her. Cauis was angry, but I could sense a trace of fear in his auburn eyes. Marcus… well, even in the face of death he managed to look bored. It didn't really seem like he cared if he lived or died. I supposed I couldn't blame him; he had lost his mate, his other half. No wonder he was so emotionally unavailable.

Kianna lunged forward, her teeth bared, and managed to snip Cauis on the shoulder as he dodged the blow. He howled in fury, and pain. She lunged again, this time getting a good chomp out of his arm before he managed to escape again. Her venom was already taking a toll on his strength; he was dragging. Marcus glanced over at them and sighed, then shot forward in a movement quicker than I would have thought him capable of. I merged into the background once again and jumped forward as well, colliding into him with a resounding *crack.* He had managed to save Cauis from one of Kianna's blows, but had gotten bitten himself in the process. He grimaced in pain, but otherwise showed no emotion. I stood up stiffly and returned to Kita, watching for any other attack against my friend. Aro was hiding in the shadows, his eyes confident, as if he knew she wouldn't find him there. I couldn't understand this at all, but I didn't want to risk getting lost in my thoughts now. It would be too risky.

I heard a low, agonized, yet somehow still angry moan as Cauis fell to the floor. I turned away from him, horrified, and waited until after the screeching was done and he was nothing more than what Renata had become. Kianna was much better at this than I was. I hoped I never had to suffer this experience again.

Aro stepped out of the shadows just as my friend finished throwing the remains of Marcus onto the pile of rubble. His face showed mixed emotions. He looked intrigued, hopeful, amused. There wasn't a trace of loss for his brothers. He had never cared.

"So my dear Kianna, we reunite at last," he murmured, folding his hands in front of him as she straightened to her full height. I was confused. I knew he had been after her for hundreds of years, but the way he worded it made it sound much more… personal. She bared her teeth.

"Do not sound so pleased, my friend," she retorted, "for I have come to set you in your place. You deserve to rule this world no longer!" He sighed dramatically.

"There is another option for you," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She growled.

"I will not _join_ you," she spat, getting into her hunting crouch again.

"It would have been perfect," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken. "Together, we could have been invincible. You would have led me away from any wrong decisions. I would have done the same for you. Nobody would have stood in our way." He made it sound like he had made this offer to her already. That she had said no long before this current conversation…

"You caused me to flee from my home," she snarled, stepping closer. "You made me flee from the outside world. You led me to believe such rumors as burning in the sun, being vulnerable to wooden stakes, simply to keep me where I was, but it only made me just that much more desperate to leave this wretched place!" So _he _ was the one who had put that silly idea in her head… "You think it was an accident that I traveled to the Bermuda Triangle? Where you could not track me? I never had, nor will I ever have, any interest in ruling with you. But never had I imagined that you would cause so much devastation. You are not _fit_ to rule! If I became monarch over the undead, I would never share rule with anyone like _you!_" She took another menacing step forward, and he backed up slightly, the confidence in his eyes dimming a bit.

"You are being irrational, sweetling," he cooed, raising his hands in surrender. "There is no need to go to extremes."

"I am no sweetling of yours," she growled, still coming forward. He backed into the wall.

"Now, now, is this any way to treat your father?" She froze, an infuriated growl ripping from her throat. I was paralyzed where I stood.

He was her… _father_?


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The room was utterly silent, save for the two beating hearts of the unicorns on either side of us. I was looking at Kianna in disbelief, who was glaring at Aro, who was watching me. It was a very silent exchange.

"What?" I gasped when I could finally form a coherent response. She sighed and straightened up again to look at me. The confident look returned to Aro's face.

"Yes, he is my father," she said, her eyes utterly sincere, and full of regret. "Not just my creator. My father. A long, long time ago- longer than you could imagine- I was human, living with the richest family on the countryside. I was daughter of Laelia and Aro Volturi, the most respected aristocrats of their time. My life was perfect, or at least very near to it, from my perspective." She paused, trying to see through the dim memories no doubt. "Then one day, father left." A dark glance in Aro's direction. He looked at us innocently. "He was gone for days. Mother was worried about him, and almost went looking for him herself before he finally came home. We knew all about vampires then- it wasn't just folklore, but an entirely real part of our life- so when we saw his pale skin, his strange eyes, we knew what he had become. Mother was terrified." She chuckled darkly. "She wanted to go straight to the townspeople, tell them what he was, but she knew well that her fate would mirror his if she did so. Anyone contaminated by the undead must die.

She wouldn't even sleep in the house anymore. She chose instead to room with the servants at night, and often suggested that I do the same. I had known there was no reason behind the precaution. If he had wanted to drink our blood, it did not matter where we slept. So I stayed, and every night before I went to bed, he would tell me stories about the undead. He explained how he was so much stronger than everyone else, so much faster, so much _better_. Naturally I was intrigued." Her face darkened and she turned to glare at Aro again. She continued the story without looking at me.

"Mother disappeared. I was confused, I knew nothing of what had happened to her. Father said she died. He did not bother to hide _that_ truth from me. He said that because she was a vulnerable human, she had passed away, and I would follow her at some time if I did not agree to turn. In a panic, I had agreed. It did not occur to me until later that she had not died of a disease, or an accident…" Her eyes hardened. "She was murdered in a frenzy to feed." I glanced wearily between father and daughter as her words slowly clicked into my head. Aro had killed his own wife.

"Naturally he did not care," she continued once she was sure I understood. "After all, he loved her no more. He was infatuated with the young vampire who changed him, Sulpicia. She had seduced him from the very beginning. She had taken him from us, knowing he would be different. He would have powers beyond any other vampire's. So he was turned, and I after him. We had ruled together, for a time, as a family. We recruited newcomers, fresh talents such as Demetri. But when I found the truth of my mother's fate, I fled. There was only one place where I could go that he would never find me. I was forced to hide under the shield of the triangle for thousands of years, long years, hoping never to have to face _him_ again. And as you can see, it was a futile attempt." Her steely gaze never left Aro's, never even faltered as she spoke of her past. His eyes were calm, almost sorrowful as she told of her unforgiveable past.

"And we were invincible then," Aro sighed when he was sure she was done. At least he was polite enough not to interrupt. "The Romans were no bother. After we gained young Alec and Jane, and with my daughter's venom, they were easy to overpower. No one could defeat us." With the mention of their relation on his lips, Kianna growled softly and crouched down again, intent on destroying the thing that had oppressed her for so long.

"Forget it Aro," she spat, baring her teeth. "I will not rule with you. I denounce any relation to you!" At this comment he looked absolutely baffled, then absolutely enraged. He glared at my friend, his former daughter, with a loathing so strong that I had to take a step back. This was a personal thing, something I didn't want to get involved in. I had agreed to help if necessary, but this scenario had never occurred to me before. It made it just that much more difficult when I had to intervene in family affairs.

"You denounce me, do you?" he sneered, bending into a hunting crouch as well. I disappeared so as not to get in the line of fire. "Well, _daughter,_ if you will not rule with me, you will not rule at all! NOBODY WILL!" He threw himself at her with an abnormally graceful movement, and she just barely dodged out of the way, a little staggered. Apparently she hadn't expected him to show any resistance to his only child. Her eyes were clouded with confusion.

He used this one moment of distraction to his advantage.

"NO!" I screeched as he lunged for the dazed vampire, aiming for her throat. At the same time as I moved my feet to help, there was an ear-shattering cry as Aleka shot from her post by the door. Naturally she beat me to the battlefield, being faster than any vampire.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

A new cry, not one of agony, but more of surprise, came from Kianna as she was shoved out of the way, a gaping hole at least two inches wide right in the middle of her torso. She smacked against the stone wall with a loud *boom.*

At the same instant, there was a loud crack, an unearthly scream, and the gurgle of lost blood as vampire and horse collided. Aleka lay on the floor unmoving, her large body pinning Aro to the ground. There was only one heartbeat in the room.

A sound like breaking glass came from the one visible door, where Kita stood watching, all but forgotten. Her eyes were wide with fear, her legs shaking with rage as she very slowly approached her mother's body, the red-eyed murderer writhing helplessly against the floor. I ran over to Kianna, trying to distract myself from that dreadful image in any way I could.

"Are you alright?" I whispered. Though her wound was huge and went right through her body, her eyes were still sensible, her senses obviously in tact. She shook her head and looked down, motioning to where her heart should be, then to her lungs…

Of course, she couldn't speak. Even if she didn't need to breathe, she still needed oxygen to talk, and she needed lungs to take in the oxygen, and they had been completely torn through.

"What is she saying?" I asked, glancing at the scene in the middle of the room helplessly. Kita was mourning over her lost mother, Aro completely forgotten in the moment of sorrow. With an entire unicorn's body crushing his legs, he wasn't likely to go anywhere any time soon.

Kianna shook her head irritatedly, signaling for me to come closer. I did so hesitantly, not sure what she wanted. She touched her palm to my forehead.

"No no no no no no…" Kita's broken whinnies formed into half-formed pleas with the contact of our skin, and I stared at Kianna in shock. She motioned for me to say something with her free hand.

"Kita, I'm so sorry," I whispered, not sure what else to say. She looked up at me in surprise, large tinted spheres of blue rolling down her face. After a moment of recollection, when she remembered she was not the only one in the room, her eyes turned steely and the fire of vengeance spread across her entire face. Aro would not be alive much longer.

"You killed my _mother_!" she screeched, the tears of hatred rolling down her cheeks even faster than her tears of sorrow. She jumped over her mother's dead body and thrust her horn downward, ripping him to shreds within moments. I turned my head away until the violence was over.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Are you alright?" Kita asked, her voice still trembling slightly. She had walked over to Kianna and I when she was finally done turning Aro to rubble. I pulled away when I heard the question to look up at the young horse and nod. She was still noticeably shaken, but a shroud of authority that had not been there before surrounded her now, keeping her wits about her.

"What'll happen to Kianna now?" I asked, half afraid of the answer. I knew she needed no translator to understand me; I had learned as much while still in the triangle, when I first talked with Aleka… Kianna put her hand back on my forehead so I could hear her response.

"I will fix her," Kita replied calmly, stepping closer to the damaged vampire. "Unicorns may be able to destroy vampires with ease- it is what we were built for- but we can also heal them." She bowed down her head to look closely at the wound, and I saw a single blue tear roll down her cheek and fall onto the place just under it, on Kianna's stomach. She did this again and again, all around the hole, and I watched in fascination as it very slowly refilled with the stony flesh. No sooner had the gap closed than Kianna gasped, the air rushing down into her newly formed lungs. When she was sure she was okay, she smiled sadly at the horse and pulled her hand away from my face.

"Thank you friend," she said, stretching out her arm to brush through Kita's mane. "Your mother would be proud." At mention of her mother, Kita sniffled, but smiled weakly at the compliment.

Just then, the sound of stone grinding against stone sounded in the cave and I jumped up with a start. With all the commotion with the unicorns, I had completely forgotten about the rest of the fight. Had we won? Or was all hope lost? Did the footsteps echoing down the passage belong to my family, or what was left of the Volturi guard coming to seek revenge?

"Cassy?" It was Jack's voice. I exhaled in a rush. Jack was okay. We were both okay.

"Jack?" My voice cracked, and my eyes pricked in that all-too familiar way. They were mostly happy sobs, but the loss of Aleka had affected all who witnessed it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, rushing over to my side as soon as he entered the cavern. "What did he do to you? At first I thought you were just invisible in the other room, but after a while I couldn't feel you helping me anymore, or see you helping anyone else. Jasper saved my neck quite a few times, actually." I threw Jasper a grateful look.

"He didn't do anything to _me_," I whispered, throwing my arms around him in grief. I didn't have the heart to say what he did out loud just yet. I changed the topic to his side of the fight, trying to stall the news. I didn't want to admit that she was really gone. "How many casualties did we have?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer, but I needed to.

"None that I know of," he said, shocked by my strange actions. His arms wove around me comfortingly. "Everything turned out fine where I was. Edward came in at the very end when we were all done to say that his party would help the wolves find any loners. We agreed to meet back in the throne room in about five minutes. Cassy, what's wrong?" I inhaled deeply, my breath shaky.

"He was her father Jack," I whispered, pulling out the more surprising- and less painful- event of the fight. "Aro was Kianna's father." He stared at me blankly for a long moment as my words slowly clicked into his brain. His jaw hung slack as he tried to comprehend this impossible circumstance.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he said, whipping his head around to Kianna. She was still stroking Kita, murmuring condolences in her ear. She didn't need to look up to know what he was talking about.

"I am ashamed of my birthright," she said, sighing. "I did not want you to turn me away for something I am not. I may be Aro's daughter, but I am not the tyrant he was. I will not make the same mistakes that he did."

"She IS technically next in line for the throne," I murmured before he could reply. "I don't really think we would want to rule an entire secret race anyway. Too much work." Jack frowned and looked at Kianna doubtfully, but nodded.

"She still could have told us," he muttered.

"You can trust me," she said. "I will not overuse my power as they did. I have learned from their mistakes."

"That's good," Tanya said, walking over to us. "I'd hate to have to overthrow a friend." She smiled warmly, completely unfazed. When we all looked at her questioningly, she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on! Was I the only one who noticed the resemblance when we first walked in? Their faces were quite similar." Kianna grimaced.

"Regardless, our personalities are much different. You can trust that I will not take your freedom." We all nodded.

"Come on, let's go back out to the throne room," Jack said, helping me to my feet. He glanced over at the still body in the middle of the floor, and I saw his eyes widen a little bit, but he didn't say anything.

When we got back out to the throne room, everyone was there. Not just our party, but the wolves and the unicorns, the ambush we had sent to the Bermuda Triangle, even Carmen and Eleazer with Tasha, who we had decided should stay away from the battle where it was safe. The young dog ran over to her owner eagerly when we stepped out of the passage.

"… was completely unexpected," Edward was saying, a huge smile on his face. "We knew that their talents would be affected, but we had never anticipated that they would backfire! You should have seen the look on Jane's face when she tried to use her talent against us and it forced her to her knees! Or when Alec tried to envelope us in his mist and then walked around blindly because his own senses were cut off!" He chuckled. "That was even easier than the newborns." Bella smiled blissfully and wound her arms around his neck in a deadlock hold.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, kissing his cheek. "I was so worried about you." He laughed breathlessly and kissed her back for a moment.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to worry about me? I'm fine. You're the one you need to worry about. Do you have any idea how anxious I was down in the triangle? Knowing that you were practically alone with Aro for a week? We are never doing that again. I will not let you go into that scenario without me." She looked at him slyly and traced her finger along his collarbone.

"I think I could get used to that," she said. I looked away to give them a moment of privacy and whistled as loudly as I could to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, listen up," I said, looking around at all the faces in the room. "We need the results from the fights. Carlisle, did anybody from the Volturi survive?"

"Not that I know of," he replied. "I believe we trapped everybody." I grimaced.

"Any fatalities on our side?"  
"None at all." Well, that was a relief.

"How about the wolves? Did you get everyone?"

"We can't tell for sure," Jacob said, already back in his human form. "We don't know if some of the vampires are still in town or if there are any rooms we missed. But we got most of them, I think." I nodded.

"Kita and I will take care of anybody they missed," Kianna assured.

"What about fatalities?" I asked.

"Everyone's intact," he said smugly. I sighed in relief. Our side was unharmed. Well, almost.

One of the unicorns in the herd whinnied softly to Kita, and I heard her sniffle and paw the ground. The horses all bowed their heads sadly.

"What's up with them?" Emmett asked, glancing at the horses. I sighed and glanced at Kianna, who was still comforting Kita.

"Aleka's gone," I said finally, my voice full of grief. "She pushed Kianna out of the way when Aro attacked, and…" I sighed. The room was deathly silent.

"We will hold a ceremony in her honor," Kianna decided. "She was very brave. She deserves nothing less." We all nodded in agreement. Emmett didn't even make a sarcastic comment, which I was grateful for.

We all went back into the secret cavern where Aleka's body lay.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The ceremony was rather short. We cremated her body there in the cavern, had a moment of silence, and then it was over. There was no need for anything fancy. Aleka would have wanted a peaceful good-bye, after the drama she went through in her last moments. So we let her rest in peace.

"So… what happens now?" Jack asked as we all walked out of the cave. I looked behind us as Kianna shut the door and shrugged.

"We should probably go home," I replied. "Kianna's got it under control here."

"I spoke with Kita, and she said she would be honored to help me set up our new monarchy," my friend assured. "You should be on your way. You have a wonderful life in Alaska awaiting you." I smiled and nodded, then opened my arms in invitation. We embraced for a short moment.

"We'll visit as often as you'll have us," I promised.

"My allies are always welcome." She smiled. "You may want to tell your friends that Aro has been overthrown. They need to hide in fear no longer." I nodded again, smiling back at her.

"My dear Kianna," Eleazer said, stepping up to her. "We would be honored if we could join you to rebuild this government. I have a few ideas you may be interested in, and Carmen could help you recruit more allies, if you wish."

"That would be most welcome," Kianna replied. "To be honest, I do not know how to rule an entire race. And I do not know the modern ways enough to rule properly. I will take any suggestions you may have." Eleazer smiled and led her away to where his wife was standing, talking about oligarchies versus monarchies and how big an army they might want. I watched after them for a moment before going out the door with the rest of my family. She was in good hands.

We stepped out into the crisp dawn air a few minutes later, and everybody sighed in relief. The battle was finally over, and we were finally free. We didn't have to worry about the Volturi's wrath any longer.

We took the side streets of Volterra all the way to the airport, nobody in any particular hurry, but needing to stay out of the light nonetheless. It seemed like so long ago that we could really breathe, really relax, and we weren't about to waste a moment of it.

We got to the airport about 30 minutes later, just before the sun came up. Luckily, Alice had planned ahead and brought everyone a hat and gloves, as well as plane tickets back to Anchorage. She probably would've brought an entire wardrobe if we hadn't been in battle 24 hours ago.

"Well, now that that's finally over," Jack said casually as we got aboard the plane, "we can start planning our second honeymoon." I smiled in anticipation.

"We can go to the Bahamas," I said, letting my hands wander over his cheekbones. "Or we can go to the Bermuda triangle again. I wouldn't mind not having to worry about our skin showing." He smiled and traced up and down my arms.

"Whatever you want," he said, kissing my jaw all the way down to my lips. I could really enjoy my time with him now, now that we weren't in the face of war.

The flight took about 14 hours in total. We took up the entire first class section, but I guess that was a good thing, considering all the humans were terrified of us. Besides, they all slept for most of the flight, and I would hate for all the vampires to wake them up by turning on a light or simply scaring them out of their wits. The werewolves slept too, of course, but we didn't scare them.

This flight wasn't like the last one. His kisses weren't urgent like when he needed to distract me; they were calm, happy. His embrace wasn't meant to be soothing as it had been before; it was loving as it had been on our honeymoon. My responses weren't desperate like when our future was unclear; they were relaxed and natural, like they were supposed to be. The one similarity between flights: he was still distracting me. The biggest difference: he didn't need to anymore.

"The plane will be landing soon," Alice whispered from behind us. "You might want to start getting your things together and prepare for good-byes." I looked at her quizzically. "We miss Forks," she explained. "We're going to leave pretty soon after we get off the plane. Now that the danger's gone, I assume there's no need for us to stick around." She raised an eyebrow. "Unless there's some big conspiracy you've managed to keep from me?" I laughed.

"I could never keep anything from you," I said. "Even if I wanted to." Then I turned around in my seat to give her a big one-armed hug. "Just promise you'll visit us soon," I murmured. "We haven't really had any time to actually hang out, with all the Volturi madness going on." She chuckled and nodded.

"I won't be gone long," she said. "Something tells me I'll be preparing another wedding here soon." A quick glance at Tanya and Marcello. "Plus, you're going to need my fashion expertise. Your wardrobe is totally out of style!" She scrunched up her nose playfully, as if there was a rotten stink in the air- other than the werewolves- and I swatted her shoulder.

"My fashion sense isn't that bad," I teased. "It's not as bad as Bella's."

"I heard that," Bella mumbled. Emmett burst into laughter.

"Don't worry little sis," he chimed in. "I think clothes will be the last thing on your mind when you get home."

"Watch it Emmett," Edward warned, kissing Bella's forehead. "Don't be a hypocrite." Emmett grunted and turned his head to look out the window. Rosalie just smiled.

We got off the plane about ten minutes later, plenty of time for Jack and me to 'get ready.' We were the first ones off, much to the relief of the humans behind us, and pretty soon we were out of the terminal saying our good-byes.

"You must come visit us soon," Tanya said to Edward, giving him a hug. I noticed that, for the first time, her voice wasn't syrupy sweet like it had been when I first saw them together. He was just a friend to her now with Marcello in her life. I could see the masked relief on Edward's face as he pulled away.

"Definitely," he agreed. "But I think for now, we'll just want to settle down into our everyday lives again. Let's enjoy it before some other catastrophe happens." Why'd he glance in my direction when he said that?

"That is probably for the best," she replied. We all hugged and wished each other luck, and then the Cullens were gone.

"We should probably get home," I murmured to Jack. "Our parents might be worried."

"How long have we been gone exactly?" he asked, looking around for some sign of a date. I paused for a moment, considering the question. How long HAD we been gone? Let's see, three days on the honeymoon, a day to get to Italy, ten days there, one more day back… I looked at my phone. Fifteen days. Exactly how long we thought the honeymoon would last.

"Our parents won't be worried," I said, sounding shocked. "We're just now supposed to be getting back from our honeymoon." When I said this out loud, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Yes, our three day honeymoon was actually supposed to end today. I pushed the thought aside. We would try again soon, and we wouldn't have the Volturi to get in the way this time. Our parents weren't going to be worried, and that was enough for me. Well, right now it was.

"Well then let's not keep them waiting," he said, taking my hand. We started to run. "I don't know about you, but I don't want them giving me crap about my honeymoon supposedly going over two weeks." I rolled my eyes.

"That may be true, but they'll probably 'give you crap' anyway when they find out we're planning another one." He frowned, his forehead creasing.

"Then we won't tell them." He waggled his eyebrows slyly. "We'll just tell them we're taking a trip with Tanya and her family." I smiled and leaned over for a moment to kiss his cheek.

"Sounds good to me," I agreed.

We parted ways after about 30 minutes to go to our separate houses and face our parents. I reached my front door a few minutes later, and hesitantly knocked.

"It's open!" my dad yelled over the TV. I chuckled. Everything was so normal here. Funny how so much had changed in the vampire world, and nothing back home seemed to have changed at all. I opened the door and walked in.

"So, you're back right on time I see," Dad said, raising an eyebrow.

"How was your honeymoon?" Mom asked, walking in from the kitchen with a plate and towel in her hands. They both stared at me expectantly. I smiled.

"Life changing," I said.


End file.
